awl-shaped, and when old rather spiny-pointed and spreading. Upper lip
of the corolla oblong and entire, somewhat arched; the lower spreading,
3-lobed, its middle lobe larger, narrowly oblong-obovate, entire, the
lateral ones oblong. Stamens 4, ascending under the upper lip; anthers
approximate in pairs, the valves naked. Nutlets truncate and sharply
3-angled.--Upright herbs, with cut-lobed leaves, and close whorls of
flowers in their axils; in summer. (Name from [Greek: le/on], _a lion_,
and [Greek: ou)ra/], _tail_, i.e. _Lion's-tail_.)
L. CARDIACA, L. (COMMON MOTHERWORT.) Tall perennial; leaves
long-petioled, the lower rounded, palmately lobed, the floral
wedge-shaped at base, 3-cleft, the lobes lanceolate; upper lip of the
pale purple corolla bearded.--Waste places, around dwellings. (Nat. from
Eu.)
L. MARRUBIASTRUM, L. Tall biennial, with elongated branches; stem-leaves
oblong-ovate, coarsely toothed; corolla (whitish) shorter than the
calyx-teeth, the tube naked within; lower lip rather erect.--Roadsides,
N. J. to Del., and southward. (Adv. from Eu.)
L. SIBIRICUS, L. Tall biennial; leaves 3-parted, the divisions
2--5-cleft, or deeply 3--7-cleft and incised; corolla (purplish) twice
as long as the calyx, the upper lip fornicate, the lower little
spreading.--Waste grounds, Penn.; also far west. (Adv. from Eu. and
Asia.)
33. LAMIUM, L. DEAD-NETTLE.
Calyx tubular-bell-shaped, about 5-nerved, with 5 nearly equal
awl-pointed teeth. Corolla dilated at the throat; upper lip ovate or
oblong, arched, narrowed at the base; the middle lobe of the spreading
lower lip broad, notched at the apex, contracted as if stalked at the
base, the lateral ones small, at the margin of the throat. Stamens 4,
ascending under the upper lip; anthers approximate in pairs, 2-celled,
the cells divergent. Nutlets truncate.--Decumbent herbs, the lowest
leaves small and long-petioled, the middle heart-shaped and doubly
toothed, the floral subtending the whorled flower-cluster; spring to
autumn. (Name from [Greek: laimo/s], _throat_, in allusion to the
ringent corolla.)
[*] _Annuals or biennials, low; flowers small, purple, in few whorls or
heads._
L. AMPLEXICAULE, L. Leaves rounded, deeply crenate-toothed or cut, the
_upper ones clasping_; corolla elongated, upper lip bearded, the lower
spotted; lateral lobes truncate.--Rather common. (Nat. from Eu.)
L. PURPUREUM, L. _Leaves_ roundish or oblong, heart-shaped,
crenate-toothed, _all petioled_.--N. Eng. and Penn. (Nat. from Eu.)
(Addendum) L. INTERMEDIUM, Fries. Resembling L. purpureum, but the
calyx-teeth longer than the tube, the rather narrower corolla without a
hairy ring within near the base, and the nutlet longer (3 times as long
as broad).--Cultivated fields near Hingham, Mass. (_C. J. Sprague_).
(Adv. from Eu.)
[*][*] _Perennial, taller; flowers larger, in several axillary whorls._
L. ALBUM, L. Hairy; leaves ovate, heart-shaped, petioled; calyx-teeth
very slender, spreading; corolla white, the tube curved upward,
obliquely contracted near the base, where there is a ring of hairs
inside; lateral lobes of lower lip bearing a long slender tooth.--E. New
Eng. (Nat. from Eu.)
L. MACULATUM, L. Like the last, but leaves more frequently marked with a
white spot on the upper face, and flowers purplish, with the ring of
hairs transverse instead of oblique.--Sparingly escaped. (Adv. from Eu.)
34. GALEOPSIS, L. HEMP-NETTLE.
Calyx tubular-bell-shaped, about 5-nerved, with 5 somewhat equal and
spiny-tipped teeth. Corolla dilated at the throat; upper lip ovate,
arched, entire; the lower 3-cleft, spreading, the lateral lobes ovate,
the middle one inversely heart-shaped; palate with 2 teeth at the
sinuses. Stamens 4, ascending under the upper lip; _anther-cells
transversely 2-valved_; the inner valve of each cell bristly-fringed,
the outer one larger and naked.--Annuals, with spreading branches, and
several--many-flowered whorls in the axils of floral leaves which are
nearly like the lower ones. (Name composed of [Greek: gale/e], _a
weasel_, and [Greek: o)/psis], _resemblance_, from some fancied likeness
of the corolla to the head of a weasel.)
G. TETRAHIT, L. (COMMON HEMP-NETTLE.) _Stem swollen below the joints,
bristly-hairy; leaves ovate_, coarsely serrate; corolla purplish or
variegated, about twice the length of the calyx; or, in var.
GRANDIFLORA, 3--4 times the length of the calyx, often yellowish with a
purple spot on the lower lip.--Waste places, common. Aug., Sept. (Nat.
from Eu.)
G. LADANUM, L. (RED H.) _Stem smooth or pubescent; leaves
oblong-lanceolate_, more or less downy; corolla red or rose-color (often
spotted with yellow), much exceeding the calyx.--E. New Eng., rare. Aug.
(Adv. from Eu.)
35. STACHYS, Tourn. HEDGE-NETTLE.
Calyx tubular-bell-shaped, 5--10-nerved, equally 5-toothed, or the upper
teeth united to form an upper lip. Corolla not dilated at the throat;
upper lip erect or rather spreading, often arched, entire or nearly so;
the lower usually longer and spreading, 3-lobed, with the middle lobe
largest and nearly entire. Stamens 4, ascending under the upper lip
(often reflexed on the throat after flowering); anthers approximate in
pairs. Nutlets obtuse, not truncate.--Whorls 2--many-flowered,
approximate in a terminal raceme or spike (whence the name, from [Greek:
sta/chus], _a spike_). Flowers purple or rose-red, in summer.
[*] _Root annual; stems decumbent, low._
S. ARVENSIS, L. (WOUNDWORT.) Hairy; leaves petioled, cordate-ovate,
obtuse, crenate; whorls 4--6-flowered, distant; corolla (purplish)
scarcely longer than the unarmed calyx.--Waste places, E. Mass. (Adv.
from Eu.)
[*][*] _Root perennial; stem erect._
[+] _Leaves obscurely or not at all cordate, sessile or short-petioled._
1. S. hyssopifolia, Michx. _Smooth and glabrous_, or the nodes hirsute;
stems slender (1 deg. high); _leaves linear-oblong or narrowly linear,
sessile_, obscurely toothed toward the apex; whorls 4--6-flowered,
rather distant; _corolla glabrous_, twice or thrice the length of the
triangular-awl-shaped spreading calyx-teeth.--Wet sandy places, Mass. to
Mich., south to Fla. and Mo.--Var. AMBIGUA, Gray, is stouter (1--2 deg.
high), sometimes with scattered retrorse bristles on the angles of the
stem, and with broader (3--6'') serrulate leaves.--Ill. and Ky. to Ga.
2. S. palustris, L. Stem 4-angled (2--3 deg. high), leafy, _hirsute with
spreading or reflexed hairs_, especially on the angles; _leaves_
sessile, or the lower short-petioled, _oblong- or ovate-lanceolate,
crenately serrate_, rounded at base, _downy or hairy-pubescent_,
obtusish (2--4' long), the upper floral ones shorter than the nearly
sessile calyx; whorls 6--10-flowered, the upper crowded into an
interrupted spike; calyx hispid; the lance-subulate teeth somewhat
spiny, half the length of the corolla, diverging in fruit; _upper lip of
corolla pubescent_.--Wet ground, Newf. to Penn., westward across the
continent.
3. S. aspera, Michx. Taller; _stem more commonly smooth on the sides,
the angles beset with stiff reflexed bristles_; leaves hairy or
smoothish, as in the last, but _nearly all distinctly petioled_, the
lower floral as long as the flowers; spike often slender and more
interrupted; _calyx mostly glabrous_, the tube rather narrower and the
teeth more awl-shaped and spiny; _corolla glabrous throughout_. (S.
palustris, var. aspera, _Gray_.)--Wet ground, common.
Var. glabra, Gray. More slender, _smooth and glabrous throughout_, or
with few bristly hairs; leaves taper-pointed, more sharply toothed,
mostly rounded or truncate at the base, _all more conspicuously
petioled_. (S. palustris, var. glabra, _Gray_.)--Western N. Y. to Ill.,
and southward.
[+][+] _Nearly all the leaves long-petioled and cordate._
4. S. cordata, Riddell. Rather weak, hirsute, 2--3 deg. high; leaves all
ovate- or oblong-cordate, acuminate, crenate (2--5' long), the floral
mostly minute; spikes slender, of numerous few-flowered clusters; calyx
only 2'' long; corolla glabrous throughout (or nearly so), barely 5''
long. (S. palustris, var. cordata, _Gray_.)--Thickets, S. Ohio to Iowa,
south to Va., Tenn., and Mo.
ORDER 83. PLANTAGINACEAE. (PLANTAIN FAMILY.)
_Chiefly stemless herbs, with regular 4-merous spiked flowers, the
stamens inserted on the tube of the dry and membranaceous veinless
monopetalous corolla, alternate with its lobes_;--chiefly represented by
the two following genera.
1. PLANTAGO, Tourn. PLANTAIN. RIBWORT.
Calyx of 4 imbricated persistent sepals, mostly with dry membranaceous
margins. Corolla salver-form or rotate, withering on the pod, the border
4-parted. Stamens 4, or rarely 2, in all or some flowers with long and
weak exserted filaments, and fugacious 2-celled anthers. Ovary 2- (or in
n. 5 falsely 3--4-) celled, with 1--several ovules in each cell. Style
and long hairy stigma single, filiform. Capsule 2-celled,
2--several-seeded, opening transversely, so that the top falls off like
a lid and the loose partition (which bears the peltate seeds) falls
away. Embryo straight, in fleshy albumen.--Leaves ribbed. Flowers
whitish, small, in a bracted spike or head, raised on a naked scape.
(The Latin name.)
Sec. 1. _Stamens 4; flowers all perfect; corolla not closed over the
fruit_.
[*] _Flowers proterogynous, the style first projecting from the unopened
corolla, the anthers long-exserted after the corolla has opened; seeds
not hollowed on the face (except in_ P. lanceolata).
[+] _Corolla glabrous; leaves strongly ribbed; perennial._
[++] _Ribs of the broad leaves rising from the midrib._
1. P. cordata, Lam. Tall, glabrous; leaves heart-shaped or round-ovate
(3--8' long), long-petioled; spike at length loosely flowered; bracts
round-ovate, fleshy; capsule 2--4-seeded.--Along streams, N. Y. to
Minn., and southward.
[++][++] _Ribs of the leaf free to the contracted base_.
2. P. major, L. (COMMON PLANTAIN.) Smooth or rather hairy, rarely
roughish; _leaves ovate, oblong, oval_, or slightly heart-shaped, often
toothed, abruptly narrowed into a channelled petiole; _spike dense,
obtuse_; sepals round-ovate or obovate; _capsule ovoid, circumscissile
near the middle, 8--18-seeded; seeds angled, reticulated_.--Waysides and
near dwellings everywhere. Doubtless introduced from Eu., but native
from L. Superior and N. Minn., northward.
3. P. Rugelii, Decaisne. Leaves as in the last, but paler and thinner;
_spikes long and thin, attenuate at the apex_; sepals oblong, acutely
carinate; _capsules cylindraceous-oblong, circumscissile much below the
middle, 4--9-seeded; seeds oval-oblong, not reticulated_. (P.
Kamtschatica, _Gray_, Man., not _Cham._)--Vt. to Minn., south to Ga.
and Tex.
4. P. eriopoda, Torr. _Usually a mass of yellowish wool at the base;
leaves thickish, oblanceolate to obovate_, with short stout petioles;
spike dense or loose; _sepals and bract more or less scarious but not
carinate; capsule ovoid, never over 4-seeded_.--Moist and saline soil;
Red River valley, Minn., and westward; also on the Lower St. Lawrence.
P. LANCEOLATA, L. (RIBGRASS. RIPPLEGRASS. ENGLISH PLANTAIN.) Mostly
hairy; scape grooved-angled, at length much longer than the _lanceolate
or lance-oblong leaves_, slender (9'--2 deg. high); spike dense, at first
capitate, in age cylindrical; bract and sepals scarious, brownish;
_seeds 2, hollowed on the face_.--Very common. (Nat. from Eu.)
[+][+] _Corolla-tube externally pubescent; leaves linear or filiform,
fleshy, indistinctly ribbed; seeds 2--4; maritime, often woolly at
base_.
5. P. decipiens, Barneoud. _Annual_, or sometimes biennial with a stout
rootstock, smooth, or the scape pubescent; leaves flat or flattish and
channelled, erect, nearly as long as the scape (5--12'), acuminate;
spike slender, rather loose. (P. maritima, var. juncoides, _Gray_,
Man.)--Salt marshes, Atlantic coast, from Labrador to N. J. The
characters distinguishing biennial specimens of this from the next are
obscure.
6. P. maritima, L. _Perennial_; spikes dense.--Coast of Mass.; Gulf of
St. Lawrence to Lab. and Greenland. (Eu.)
[*][*] _Flowers of 2 sorts (as respects length of anthers and filaments)
on different plants, mostly cleistogamous; corolla-lobes broad, rounded,
persistently spreading; seeds 2, boat-shaped; inflorescence and narrow
leaves silky-pubescent or woolly; annual._
7. P. Patagonica, Jacq., var. gnaphalioides, Gray. White with silky
wool; leaves 1--3-nerved, varying from oblong-linear to filiform; spike
very dense (1/4--4' long), woolly; bracts not exceeding the calyx; sepals
very obtuse, scarious, with a thick centre.--Prairies and dry plains,
Minn. to Ind., Ky., and Tex., westward to the Pacific. Very
variable.--Var. NUDA, Gray; with sparse and loose pubescence, green and
soon glabrate rigid leaves, and short bracts.--Var. SPINULOSA, Gray; a
canescent form with aristately prolonged and rigid bracts.--Var.
ARISTATA, Gray; loosely hairy and green, or becoming glabrous, with
narrowly linear bracts 2--3 times the length of the flowers. (Nat. on
Martha's Vineyard, and about Boston.)
Sec. 2. _Flowers subdioecious or polygamo-cleistogamous; the corolla in the
fertile (or mainly fertile) plant closed over the maturing capsule and
forming a kind of beak, and anthers not exserted; sterile flowers with
spreading corolla and long-exserted filaments; seeds mostly flat; small
annuals or biennial._
[*] _Leaves comparatively broad, short-petioled or subsessile; stamens
4._
8. P. Virginica, L. Hairy or hoary-pubescent (2--9' high); leaves
oblong, varying to obovate and spatulate-lanceolate, 3--5 nerved,
slightly or coarsely and sparingly toothed; spikes mostly dense (1--2'
long); seeds usually 2.--Sandy grounds, S. New Eng. to S. Ill., south to
Fla. and Ariz.
[*][*] _Leaves linear or filiform; flowers very small; stamens 2; spike
slender._
9. P. pusilla, Nutt. Minutely pubescent (1--4' high); leaves entire;
_capsule short-ovoid, 4-seeded_, little exceeding the calyx and
bract.--Sandy soil, southern N. Y. to Va., west to the Rocky Mts.
Apr.--Aug.
10. P. heterophylla, Nutt. Leaves rather fleshy, acute, entire, or some
of them below 2--4-lobed or toothed; _capsule oblong-conoidal,
10--28-seeded_, nearly twice the length of the calyx and bract.--Low
sandy ground, Penn. to Fla. and Tex. Apr.--June.
2. LITTORELLA, L.
Flowers monoecious; the male solitary on a mostly simple naked scape;
calyx 4-parted, longer than the cylindraceous 4-cleft corolla; stamens
exserted on very long capillary filaments. Female flowers usually 2,
sessile at the base of the scape; calyx of 3 or 4 unequal sepals;
corolla urn-shaped, with a 3--4-toothed orifice. Ovary with a single
cell and ovule, tipped with a long laterally stigmatic style, maturing
as an achene. (Name from _litus_ or _littus_, shore, from the place of
growth.)
1. L. lacustris, L. Stoloniferous but otherwise stemless; leaves terete,
linear-subulate, 1--2' long.--In water or on gravelly shores, Nova
Scotia and N. Brunswick, to L. Champlain (_Pringle_) and Ont.
DIVISION III. APETALOUS DICOTYLEDONOUS PLANTS.
Corolla none; the floral envelopes in a single series (calyx), or
sometimes wanting altogether.
ORDER 84. NYCTAGINACEAE. (FOUR-O'CLOCK FAMILY.)
_Herbs (or in the tropics often shrubs or trees), with mostly opposite
and entire leaves, stems tumid at the joints, a delicate tubular or
funnel-form calyx which is colored like a corolla, its persistent base
constricted above the 1-celled 1-seeded ovary, and indurated into a sort
of nut-like pericarp; the stamens few, slender, and hypogynous; the
embryo coiled around the outside of mealy albumen, with broad foliaceous
cotyledons_ (in Abronia monocotyledonous by abortion).--Represented in
our gardens by the FOUR-O'CLOCK, or MARVEL OF PERU (MIRABILIS JALAPA),
in which the calyx is commonly mistaken for a corolla, the cup-like
involucre of each flower exactly imitating a calyx.
1. Oxybaphus. Involucre of united bracts. Fruit wingless. Calyx bell
shaped.
2. Abronia. Involucre of distinct bracts. Fruit 5-winged. Calyx
salver-form.
1. OXYBAPHUS, Vahl.
Flowers 3--5 in the same 5-lobed membranaceous broad and open involucre,
which enlarges and is thin and reticulated in fruit. Calyx with a very
short tube and a bell-shaped (rose or purple) deciduous limb, plaited in
the bud. Stamens mostly 3 (3--5), hypogynous. Style filiform; stigma
capitate. Fruit achene-like, several-ribbed or angled (pubescent in
ours).--Herbs, abounding on the western plains, with very large and
thick perennial roots, opposite leaves, and mostly clustered small
flowers. (Name [Greek: o)xyba/phon], _a vinegar-saucer_, or small
shallow vessel; from the shape of the involucre.)
1. O. nyctagineus, Sweet. _Nearly smooth_; stem becoming repeatedly
forked, 1--3 deg. high; _leaves all petioled_ (except the uppermost reduced
ones), _from broadly ovate to lanceolate, rounded or cordate or cuneate
at base_; inflorescence loose and but slightly pubescent, the peduncles
slender (at first solitary in the axils); fruit oblong-obovate, 2''
long, rather acutely angled.--Minn. and Wisc. to Tex. and La.; rare
escape from gardens in E. Mass. and R. I.
2. O. hirsutus, Sweet. More or less _glandular-hirsute_, especially
about the nodes and the usually contracted inflorescence, 1--3 deg. high;
_leaves lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, sessile_ and cuneate at base or
narrowed to a short petiole; stamens often 5; fruit with thickened
obtuse angles.--Plains of the Sask. to Wisc., Iowa., Neb., and Tex.
3. O. angustifolius, Sweet. Often tall, _glabrous_ except the more or
less hirsute peduncles and involucres; _leaves linear_, thick and
glaucous, often elongated (2--6' long); fruit as in the last.--Minn. to
Tex., and westward.
2. ABRONIA, Juss.
Involucre of 5--15 distinct bracts, enclosing numerous sessile flowers.
Calyx salver-form, with obcordate lobes. Stamens 5, included, adnate to
the calyx-tube. Style included; stigma linear-clavate. Perfect fruit
3--5-winged. Embryo monocotyledonous.--Low herbs, with thick opposite
petioled unequal leaves, axillary or terminal peduncles, and showy
flowers in solitary heads. (Name from [Greek: a(bro/s], _graceful_.)
1. A. fragrans, Nutt. More or less viscid-pubescent, from a perennial
root; leaves oblong or ovate, truncate or cuneate at base; involucre
conspicuous, of broad ovate white and scarious bracts; flowers white,
fragrant, 4--10'' long; fruit coriaceous, obpyramidal, with narrow
undulate coarsely reticulated wings.--From W. Iowa to Utah and N. Mex.
ORDER 85. ILLECEBRACEAE. (KNOTWORT FAMILY.)
_Herbs, with mostly opposite and entire leaves, scarious stipules_
(except in Scleranthus), _a 4--5-toothed or -parted herbaceous or
coriaceous persistent calyx_, no petals, _stamens borne on the calyx, as
many as the lobes and opposite them or fewer, styles 2 and often united,
and fruit a 1-seeded utricle._ Seed upon a basal funicle, the embryo (in
ours) surrounding the mealy albumen.--Small diffuse or tufted herbs,
with small greenish or whitish flowers in clusters or dichotomous cymes.
1. Anychia. Stamens on the base of the 5-parted awnless calyx. Styles
hardly any.
2. Paronychia. Stamens on the base of the 5-parted calyx; the sepals
hooded at the summit and bristle-pointed. Style 1, 2-cleft at the top.
3. Scleranthus. Stamens borne on the throat of the indurated 5-cleft and
pointless calyx. Styles 2. Stipules none.
1. ANYCHIA, Michx. FORKED CHICKWEED.
Sepals 5, scarcely concave, indistinctly mucronate on the back,
greenish. Stamens 2--3, rarely 5. Stigmas 2, sessile. Utricle larger
than the calyx. Radicle turned downward.--Small, many times forked
annuals, with small stipules, and minute flowers in the forks, produced
all summer. (Same derivation as the next genus.)
1. A. dichotoma, Michx. _More or less pubescent, short-jointed, low and
spreading_; leaves somewhat petioled, mostly very narrowly lanceolate or
oblanceolate; _flowers nearly sessile_ and somewhat clustered.--Mostly
in open places, N. Eng. to Fla., west to Minn. and Ark.
2. A. capillacea, DC. _Smooth, longer-jointed, slender and erect; leaves
thinner, broader and longer_ (5--15'' long); _flowers more stalked and
diffuse._ (A. dichotoma, var. capillacea, _Torr._)--Dry woodlands, same
range as the last, but more abundant northward.
2. PARONYCHIA, Tourn. WHITLOW-WORT.
Sepals 5, linear or oblong, concave, awned at the apex. Petals (or
staminodia) bristle-form, or minute teeth, or none. Stamens 5. Style
2-cleft at the apex. Utricle enclosed in the calyx. Radicle
ascending.--Tufted herbs (ours perennial), with dry and silvery
stipules, and clustered flowers. (Greek name for a _whitlow_, and for a
plant thought to cure it.)
1. P. argyrocoma, Nutt. Forming broad tufts, branched, _spreading;
leaves linear_ (1/2' long); _flowers densely clustered_, surrounded by
conspicuous _large silvery bracts_; calyx hairy, short-awned; petals
mere teeth between the stamens.--Bare mountain slopes of the White Mts.,
and in the Alleghanies from Va. to Ga.; also coast of Maine and near
Newburyport, Mass. July.
2. P. dichotoma, Nutt. Smooth, tufted; stems (6--12' high) _ascending_
from a rather woody base; _leaves_ (1/2--11/2' long) _and bracts_ narrowly
_awl-shaped_; _cymes open, many-times forked_; sepals short-pointed;
minute bristles in place of petals.--Rocks, Md. to N. C. and Tex.
July--Sept.
3. P. Jamesii, Torr. & Gray. Subcespitose, much branched from the
somewhat woody base, minutely puberulent; leaves filiform-subulate,
obtuse or mucronate; forked cymes rather close; calyx narrow-campanulate
with turbinate base.--Central Kan. to W. Neb., Col., and Tex.
3. SCLERANTHUS, L. KNAWEL.
Sepals 5, united below in an indurated cup, enclosing the utricle.
Stamens 10 or 5. Styles 2, distinct.--Homely little weeds, with
awl-shaped leaves, obscure greenish clustered flowers, and no stipules.
(Name from [Greek: sklero/s], _hard_, and [Greek: a)/nthos], _flower_,
from the hardened calyx-tube.)
S. ANNUUS, L. Much branched, spreading (3--5' high); flowers sessile in
the forks; calyx-lobes scarcely margined.--Waste places. (Nat. from Eu.)
ORDER 86. AMARANTACEAE. (AMARANTH FAMILY)
_Weedy herbs, with nearly the characters of the next family, but the
flowers mostly imbricated with dry and scarious persistent bracts; these
often colored, commonly 3 in number_; the 1-celled ovary in our genera
1-ovuled. (The greater part of the order tropical.)
[*] Anthers 2-celled; flowers unisexual; leaves alternate.
1. Amarantus. Flowers monoecious or polygamous, all with a calyx of 3 or
5 distinct erect sepals, not falling off with the fruit.
2. Acnida. Flowers dioecious. Calyx none in the fertile flowers.
[*][*] Anthers 1-celled; flowers perfect; leaves opposite.
3. Iresine. Calyx of 5 sepals. Filaments united below into a cup.
Flowers paniculate.
4. Froelichia. Calyx 5-cleft. Filaments united into a tube. Flowers
spicate.
(Addendum) 5. Cladothrix. Flowers perfect, minute, axillary. Densely
white-tomentose.
1. AMARANTUS, Tourn. AMARANTH.
Flowers monoecious or polygamous, 3-bracted. Calyx of 5, or sometimes 3,
equal erect sepals, glabrous. Stamens 5, rarely 2 or 3, separate;
anthers 2-celled. Stigmas 2 or 3. Fruit an ovoid 1-seeded utricle,
2--3-beaked at the apex, mostly longer than the calyx, opening
transversely or sometimes bursting irregularly. Embryo coiled into a
ring around the albumen.--Annual weeds, of coarse aspect, with alternate
and entire petioled setosely tipped leaves, and small green or purplish
flowers in axillary or terminal spiked clusters; in late summer and
autumn. ([Greek: A)ma/rantos], _unfading_, because the dry calyx and
bracts do not wither. The Romans, like the Greeks, wrote Amarantus,
which the early botanists incorrectly altered to _Amaranthus_.)